We continue to further develop our Acceleron II booster. We have now added another 6 L of capacity, which makes it almost 19L in total. The nozzles are now 10 mm which is almost 30% more nozzle area.
The top bottle is still the same dummy payload that carries about 600mL of water for ballast that represents the weight of the second stage. That means as it stands the booster lofts about a 750gm sustainer (including water).
The dry weight is now ~1.3 Kg (including the empty dummy payload) which is a bit on the heavy side, but simulations predict an altitude beyond 100m. The booster will, however, only need to travel around 12m before it releases the sustainer at roughly 50m/s = 180 km/h = 112 mph. The simulation is based on 120psi which is what we currently use on this booster. 15-20 more psi is easily achieved, and gain us a few more m/s.
Simulations also show that this Booster / Sustainer combination should be able to achieve altitudes beyond 200 meters (650 feet) with the 120psi - 130psi range.
In this photo the booster still does not have the parachutes fitted. We hope to have it finished this weekend and take it on a test flight weather allowing. Full details of the rocket will be posted on the website once we had a chance to fly it.
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